Observations
by expelliarmus79
Summary: Remus observes Miriam and Severus during an Order meeting. His thoughts turn to his friend's happiness, and his gratitude towards a certain Potions Master. A one-shot from Remus' POV.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters.

A little background: This story is a one-shot from Remus' view point. It takes place during the summer of book five, before Harry and Dudley are attacked by the dementors. If you've read Things That Come to Pass, you know Miriam and Remus have been friends since childhood. In this story, Sirius carries a great deal of anger; over his ineffectiveness with the Order and his clouded view of Miriam and Severus' relationship. No Sirius bashing is intended, though. Although not lemon-y, I rated this M for some profanity and innuendo. Enjoy!

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Observations

Remus chased some rice around his takeout box until it caught on his chopsticks. As he chewed, he looked around the old worn kitchen table at Grimmauld Place. He, Miriam, Tonks, and Sirius, were killing time before the Order meeting. Miriam carried in Chinese food from a shop around the corner and she was in the middle of another story about a lackluster business deal.

"- and he didn't offer to pick up the check! Never mind that he's sitting on a monstrous pile of gold in Gringotts. God, he's such a tight ass," Miriam finished with a shake of her head.

"Who has a tight ass?" Sirius asked with a smirk as he came back to the table. He slid a Butterbeer down the smooth wood towards Miriam. As it glided towards her, Miriam caught it deftly in her left hand and her wedding ring made a clinking noise against the glass bottle.

Miriam rolled her eyes. "Tonks, Sirius, who else?"

"Well, I have been working out," Tonks said indifferently as she flipped her aqua hair over her shoulder.

The whole table burst out laughing. Remus shook his head and looked at the two witches across from him. It amazed him how two opposite people could become such easy friends. Amid the laughter, Remus noticed Severus standing in the doorway. They made eye contact, and a subtle nod of acknowledgement passed between them.

Remus observed as Severus wandlessly pulled the chair away from the table and sat next to Miriam, his body angled towards hers. Her eyes lit up and a warm smile settled on her face. Their heads drew closer and Remus could tell Miriam was concentrating on Severus' words. She shook her head and her curls bounced from the movement. She reached for her takeout box and selected a piece of orange chicken with her chopsticks, which she offered to Severus. Miriam watched as Severus took the offered piece, and arched an eyebrow as though to ask if he approved. Remus saw a slight inclination of his head, and judging from the large smile on Miriam's face that must have meant a rave review from Severus.

Remus smirked at the sight before him. Severus was in his customary black attire complete with robes despite the fact that Grimmauld was in Muggle London. Miriam blended in better than her husband, but she was still too pretty for this postal code. She had her hair down, the dark curls framing her heart-shaped face. Miriam had worn a tight pair of dark jeans and knee-high brown leather riding boots. She paired them with a cream-colored tee and matching cardigan jacket to ward off the damp weather.

There was a time when he would have thought the couple across from him an ill fit, a poor match destined to fail. Yet here they were, thirteen years later. His mood grew wistful as he remembered some of the happy and sad moments he witnessed in their years together, realizing full well he wasn't privy to all. In Remus' mind there was no question about their devotion to one another.

Abruptly the mood shifted when Sirius realized that Severus was in the room. The two men glared at each other. Remus shifted in his chair and shared a nervous glance with Tonks. The air crackled with tension, and Remus silently prayed that Sirius would keep his mouth shut. It was no secret that Severus and Sirius hated each other since Hogwarts. Most didn't know, however, that Sirius had a crush on Miriam in school despite them being distantly related. When he escaped Azkaban, Sirius was stricken to find his cousin married to Severus Snape. That bit of news had bruised Sirius' ego.

The door to the kitchen swung open to reveal Albus Dumbledore, a serious expression on his face. He quietly surveyed the room, from the silent standoff between Severus and Sirius to the boxes of takeout littered across the table. True to form, Albus didn't miss an opportunity to diffuse a problem before it started.

"Ah," Albus said as he rubbed his hands together. "I love Chinese food! Did you get any beef and broccoli for me, Miriam?" Albus asked as he leaned around the table, cutting off Severus' view of Sirius.

Miriam looked up from her seat and summoned an untouched box. "Just for you," Miriam said with a grin as she handed Albus the box and a pair of chopsticks.

"Excellent!" Albus exclaimed. "Severus, may I have a word with you in the meeting room?"

The original occupants of the room watched as Severus and Albus left. Tonks and Miriam turned their attention back to their food as Remus took a swill from his Butterbeer. Sirius was still pissed, and feeling the need to vent, turned his glare on Miriam.

Miriam paused mid-bite to find Sirius glowering at her. "What now?" she asked brusquely.

"You know what," Sirius snipped. "How do you put up with him? He's -"

"Don't," Miriam said forcefully as she held her palm up towards Sirius. "Just don't."

Remus exhaled as some of the fire seemed to go out of Sirius. He exchanged another look with Tonks before his attention focused on Miriam. She was elbow deep in her leather bag, mumbling to herself.

"Here, Remus," Miriam said as she drew out a large thermos and placed it on the table. "I almost forgot to give this to you."

"Thank you," Remus said with a smile as he pulled the drink over to him. What a relief to finally have another bottle of Wolfsbane on hand. He had yet to talk with Severus privately about his brewing the potion for him, let alone thank him. Remus hadn't expected Severus to continue brewing the potion for him after he left Hogwarts, and although he knew Severus wasn't doing it out of the goodness of his heart, Remus was still grateful.

"Come on," Tonks said to no one in particular. "Let's get this meeting over."

The meeting started out simply, but quickly became heated. An argument broke out over how, exactly, they were going to retrieve Harry from the Dursley's and get him to Hogwarts. Remus listened as Mad-Eye grilled Severus over Voldemort's plans,with Albus and Minerva interjecting questions when they could. Remus could feel Sirius fidgeting next to him.

"Severus, do you think it would be at all safe to let Harry come to Kings Cross and take the Hogwarts Express?" Minerva asked.

Severus' face was impassive as always when he replied, "I think that would be impractical. It would be unwise to leave his…fate…. in the hands of Muggles."

"I agree with Severus," Miriam said.

"Of course _you_ would, but who says he has the Order's interests at heart?" Sirius said, anger making his voice hard. At Miriam's questioning gaze, Sirius added coldly, "Or did you forget you are sleeping with the enemy, Miriam?"

Several gasps were heard round the table at Sirius' callous words. Remus could see the anger flash in Miriam's grey eyes as her hand gripped the edge of the table.

"Come, now, Sirius -" Kingsley began, but Sirius cut him off.

"No! How do we know he isn't feeding us misinformation and playing Harry into Voldemort's hands?"

Severus looked ready to reach across the table and throttle Sirius. The look of malice on his face was terrifying. Remus knew that Albus trusted Severus, and in turn that trust led Remus to believe Severus' intentions were for the good of the Order. Yet just like in school, Sirius was running on emotion and Remus felt torn between speaking out and keeping the peace. He looked across the table at Miriam. The anger still showed on her face, yet there was a hooded look of hurt in her eyes. Without thinking, he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"That is exactly what Voldemort would want us to think, to cause dissention among us. And that type of thinking will do more damage to us than anything Severus could do."

Sirius whipped his head around to stare incredulously at his friend. Remus kept his eyes on Miriam. She looked at Remus, surprised, but then she gave him a small smile in thanks. Albus cleared his throat and when Remus looked at him, there was a bright twinkle in his blue eyes.

"I agree we should act, and soon. Fortunately, we have just the people to figure out a way to get Harry. Nymphadora, Miriam, stay behind so I may have a word."

The two witches looked at each other as the rest of the order filed out quickly to the cool spaciousness of the entry. Remus turned to speak to Sirius, only to find his retreating form stalking angrily away. Remus figured his comments earned him the cold shoulder for a while and sighed heavily.

Remus navigated through the sea of bodies to the door. When he squeezed into the hallway, he caught sight of Severus standing against the wall closest to the door, waiting for Miriam. Remus knew Severus cared little for him; any tolerance he showed was in deference to his wife. It made Remus' heart heavy to know that any apology he may offer for past indiscretions would fall on deaf ears. Water under the bridge, Remus thought to himself as he made his way over to stand next to the dark wizard.

Severus raised an eyebrow at Remus, but said nothing. After a few minutes of watching people leave, Remus cleared his throat. Without looking at Severus he said, "Miriam gave me the thermos earlier."

"Good," Severus replied, clearly wanting to end the conversation.

Remus forged on. "When she did, I realized I haven't thanked you for continuing to brew for me. I know you don't have to, but you need to understand I appreciate it greatly. It helps, very much…..so thank you."

It was then that Severus looked at Remus, then quickly turned his gaze back down the hall. Remus thought Severus would at least offer a 'you're welcome', but the silence hung heavy between them. Finally, Severus took a deep breath and spoke.

"Miriam sees you as a dear friend. As such, she worries about you. Your…health is important to her. I cannot bear for her to fret when there is something I can do about it. She has endured enough sadness."

Remus' eyes widened slightly. This was probably one of the more personal conversations the two had in a long, long time. Remus opened his mouth, but just then Miriam and Tonks came through the door.

"Are you ready?" Miriam asked Severus. He nodded. "Thanks for earlier, Remus," she added with a smile.

"You're welcome," Remus replied. He smiled and said, "You two enjoy your evening."

Sirius stepped into the doorway and glowered at the happy faces he saw. "Leaving so soon?" he said pointedly to Severus and Miriam. She simply rolled her eyes at his question and slipped her hand around Severus' offered arm.

"So what, you're giving me the silent treatment?" Sirius asked as the pair walked down the hall. Miriam froze in her tracks. She turned around and gave Sirius a hard stare. Severus slipped his arm around Miriam's waist and narrowed his eyes at Black.

"Next time you talk about people's personal lives, Sirius, you should at least make sure you have your facts straight," Miriam said, her voice cold.

"What are you going on about?"

"Well, if you must know, sleep rarely enters the equation when we have time alone together," Miriam said easily.

Remus snickered and watched as Sirius' face turned from smug to slightly green. Tonks busted up with laughter and headed into the kitchen. Miriam smiled brightly at getting the last word, and headed down the hall with Severus who had a very triumphant look on his face.

As Remus watched the pair walk out the door, he couldn't help but shake his head. He wasn't going to pretend that he understood the how and why of their relationship. All he knew was that it worked and his friend, finally, was happy.

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A/N: Remus is my second-favorite male character. Thanks for reading!


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